What "Traditional Knife" are ya totin' today?

[Half/Stop]

Carrying these 2 again today .



Harry

Beautiful pair Harry! You’re living large my friend!

 

[joeradza]

Tell me again why I've spent thousands on higher end productions and customs? Lol.

 

[5K Qs]

Aristocratic, John!

Ebony and Ivory .....

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Black and white bonus, Steve!

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Thank you, Gary! I'm going to have that song in my head all day, though.

"Keep smiling until then", Dean.

An A.G. Russell sleeveboard whittler (1990) is my carry today.

Commendable whittler, Dean! (I'm surprised that the blades are all so similar in shape.)

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5K Qs Thank you GT. Taking a little time to find a sowbelly with my name on it. But based on the look of your Rough Rider collection, as well as your enthusiasm, I just picked up my first two.

The obsession is strong.

Dapper knife (and deceitful pen), Harvey! Looking forward to seeing your sowbelly stock knives; I hope you'll like them.

I've had that Camillus pen for a few months at this point.

Thanks for the info; it's eerie (or maybe I'm just elderly) that I don't even remember seeing it before.

I just got a reply text from Stuart @Duckdog. I told him we were wandering about him. He’s doing okay! He has been doing some fishing and working on his hunting property. He said he has also had to do some work on his daughters car. All this on top of yard work and contending with the terrible heat. Not to worry he’ll be back soon. He did say that he wouldn’t even try to catch up!

Thanks for the favorable first-hand update, Ron!

5K Qs ~ Appreciate your kind and witty comments, my friend. You inspired me to carry the Sabre. Way overdue!
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I'm grateful for your thoughtful comment, Jeff! Your big Sabre looks to be in finer fettle than mine.

Wow those are some nice pics and and beauty’s !!

I'm honored and happy to read your reaction, @TheFactor!

I thought that ironwood stunner was named Union Jack??? Or am I confused yet again...

I used an Xmas gift card to buy one of those Case swaybacked jacks. It kind of grows on you. Light and slim, and very well fitted. In fact, I am very impressed with the Case knives I’ve been lucky enough to acquire. Long live Case!

Jeff, you're confused, but understandably so! Last week, I carried Union Jack a lambsfoot with stripes on its rosewood handle. This week I'm carrying Valley Jack, another lambsfoot with stripes on ironwood.
I agree that the Case Swayback Jack is impressive. It's smaller than I expected, and I'm still worried about using the Wharncliffe blade in a way that puts the tip at risk, but it sure is a fine 2-blade jack with jigging that knocks me out!

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Your sowbelly made up my mind for my Saturday carry!
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The "Be Prepared" shield was used on the first series of official BSA scout knives produced by New York Knife Co, starting in 1911. NYKCo had the monopoly on the official BSA knives through 1922, when in 1923 both Remington and Ulster were also granted the right to produce the official knives. NYKCo kept the "Be Prepared" shield until 1926, joining their 2 new competitors who had been using their own versions the BSA shield since 1923. Unfortunately by 1926 NYKCo had already succumbed to the fierce competition of the newer production techniques that had been introduced following WWI...the rest is history...

Awesome threesome today Gary!!! That Desert Ironwood is stunning!
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Thanks for your positive comments, JJ, and for the helpful info about the "Be Prepared" shield!

Today my pocket pair will be a Queen made Winchester Sowbelly and a great little GEC 15 jack.

Laudable pair, JJ! Cool covers on the sowbelly; celluloid?

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Opulent Osage Orange, Dave!

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After giving it a bit of thought, I will be totin’ the Appaloosa Bone Barlow today. Enjoy the weekend everyone!

Case Barlow Bone Bonanza, Leslie Tomville !

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Memorable and meritorious, Jeff!

Beautiful pics of your Valley Jack, GT! Great color and nice clear shots.
I find the Ironwood '19's to be VERY photogenic and look wonderful with many different background colors.

Thanks, Mark. I think it's notable that there are several quite different "looks" to those ironwood lambsfoot knives, but every type turns out to photograph well!

Camillus #12 today

Paragon of pulchritude, Steve!!

Rack 'em, Rachel!

Great picture of your Lambsfoot, GT.
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Thanks, John.
The quintessential great shots of Lambsfoot knives are the pics you've posted of your ebony Waynorth Cutlery version!

Neither of these have seen the light of day for a while.

Stupendous pair, Tom! Is that ram's horn on the Lionsteel? Striking!

The Eagle has landed.
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Terrific and timely pic and caption, Vince!

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IMHO, a couple of the most unforgettable pattern GEC has offered over the past few years, Ron!

- GT

 

[5K Qs]

These two also:
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The stitches on that SAK are so vivid, Vince!

Had to kind of rush to get the lawn mowed before the rain and have these in my pockets .
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Harry

They make a world-class pair, Harry! (Do you still use your clotheslines? I quit using mine about 5 years ago. )

Thanks Gary but really I don’t know. It’s not rare but not common I’d say. Either way, I do love tip bolsters/caps!

This NYK congress pen again, it’s a great knife.

Thanks, Nick. That's a zesty old congress!!

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For Sunday (today) I decided to go with a couple of my old favorites from KK and Remington

That scout knife will set off some yearning!

... Notice the lack of a nail nick or long pull on this 2009.
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I'm certainly appreciating that arresting stag 25, @Travman!

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Hope everyone is having a great Sunday Nothing fancy for me today as I've got some gardening to do

Functionally formidable pair, Jack!

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Accolades on the AC, Dwight!

Searching for a Great Eastern Cutlery #35 Churchill, I thought it would be a long time before I found a Tidioute version on the secondary market. I did find, languishing on a dealer’s shelf a new Tidioute #66 Calf Roper in ebony, so I grabbed it while the grabbing was good. Of course, I found a Tidioute Churchill the next day. Being now wiser in the ways of Great Eastern Cutlery knives, I bought it too.


To my mind, these are two outstanding examples of traditional user knives, which is why I wanted them originally. And they are. The surprise was that the smaller, wider Calf Roper is my favorite of the the two. I had expected the Churchill would be my go-to carry knife of the two. This shows once again that a knife can’t be realistically evaluated in terms of how it will or will not suit you until you get one in hand and use it for a while.


From photos and online speculation, I was convinced that the closed blade configuration of the 66 would be both wonky and somewhat uncomfortable when one blade was open for use, but not so. I suppose it is the size of the handle, the slight serpentine bend and the positioning of the closed blades relative the the open one that make it just fine. All of this is of course due to Bill Howard’s uncanny design expertise.


The Churchill is a fine knife, and I really like it, don’t get me wrong. It will have its share of pocket and use time for sure. It is just bigger in almost every way (sheep foot excepted, probably) than the Calf Roper. Not much bigger but the difference is noticeable, not something I expected. Even so, to my feel, they both weigh so much the same that weight isn’t a factor.


Most of my other Great Eastern Cutlery knives don’t see much use so I plan to move them along and stick with my one “collector” piece, and three or so users.

I would recommend both the 66 and the 35 to anyone looking for an excellent traditional user pocket knife. I know I’m happy.

Off to church with both.

Thanks for the review of those two praiseworthy patterns, @Mayonardo!

Colorful shot of your Ancient TC, Harvey!

Sunday carry, small but sharp.

Slim and sublime, too, Dean!

- GT

 

[JaxBaron]

Nice Fatboy DelOro! The gunstock is not to shabby either.

 

[r8shell]

Rack 'em, Rachel!

It does make a nice knife stand, doesn't it?

 

[Peregrin]

Tell me again why I've spent thousands on higher end productions and customs? Lol.View attachment 1166065

A question for the ages, Alan.
I wish I had the answer...

 

[Leslie Tomville]

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This might be my last chance to show you this knife, because my collection is getting out of hand. Gene Wiseman makes a perfect knife. I would not change a single thing.

 

[Fodderwing]

"I ain't totin' no stinkin' knife son, I'm growin' a moustache !!!

I like it Dan.

I don't believe there is a more photogenic knife than these ancients. Very nicely done Harvey.

One of my all time favorite guitarists ever

Definitely my favorite, Paul! He had a passionate style, all of his own.

Mine two guys. One of a kind.

Exceptional photo. Stunning.

That's an English bloke on the mug, by the way.)

 

[Hickory n steel]

Thanks for the info; it's eerie (or maybe I'm just elderly) that I don't even remember seeing it before.

There's too many knives to keep up with and I haven't carried it in at least two months probably.
But on the other hand it might be the only one on the forum, even though the hardware chain seems to have been offering them up till Camillus closed it's doors.

 

[Fodderwing]

I will be toting my Spanish polished stag navaja to cheer me up on Blue Monday:

From Master Artisan José Antonio Herreros Gomez, Albacete, España.

Terrific image Vince!

Accolades on the AC, Dwight

Thank you GT.

Have a great week folks

 

[microbe]

 

[Amir Fleschwund]

Tell me again why I've spent thousands on higher end productions and customs? Lol.View attachment 1166065

Perhaps it’s as simple as having the available $. The same logic in the inverse certainly explains my knife collection.

But with that sturdy and functional pair, you won’t need to baby them.

 

[joeradza]

Perhaps it’s as simple as having the available $. The same logic in the inverse certainly explains my knife collection.

But with that sturdy and functional pair, you won’t need to baby them.

The Douk-Douk has actually been abused at times just to prove a point. Like swimming in the salty Gulf, etc. It's an amazing knife.

 

[Frailer]

Tell me again why I've spent thousands on higher end productions and customs? Lol.View attachment 1166065

An excellent question.

Last week I found myself one mouse-click away from purchasing a $400 production knife. It was beautiful, but it knew that due to its size and blade configuration it would never (or almost never) see any pocket time. Still...I wanted it.

In the end I was able to resist the temptation, but it was harder than it should have been.

I’ll continue to be seduced by fine knives produced by talented individual craftsmen, and I may even succumb to temptation on occasion. Nevertheless, there is much to be said for the knives produced in factories these days.

Today I’m carrying a 2018 Case Doctor’s knife. It’s not perfect, but I think it has a certain charm. It rides easy in my pocket, and I feel confident that it will do whatever I ask of it.

 

[Amir Fleschwund]

5K Qs ~ sorry, I meant to reply to your straw hat questions...
Durability? You get what you pay for. Find one expertly hand woven, and it should last for years. Buy a cheap machine made one from the display next to the pool noodles and flip flops at the Stuffmart, and it might make it through your vacation.

I bought this one at a little street vendor’s booth in a small Mexican town ten or eleven years ago.

Having had a bit of basal cell carcinoma cut off my nose before, I am a lot more careful nowadays. This keeps the sun off my ears and neck, which a baseball cap fails to do. The vent holes help with airflow, and on really hot days, I soak it with water, and the evaporative cooling effect helps.View attachment 1166133The under the chin strap saves it from getting knocked off by low hanging brush. A hat never looks the same after you run over it with the brush hog.

 

[joeradza]

Peregrin Frailer Amir Fleschwund
It was as much a rhetorical question as my being truly serious. It really has a simple answer. We've been seduced and we are confirmed knife knuts. We all cheap out on some things and splurge on others. As Amir said it sometimes has to do with extra $$.

 

[Whetstone39]

Stupendous pair, Tom! Is that ram's horn on the Lionsteel? Striking!

- GT

Thanks GT! Yes, ram's horn, the model is the Bolus from CollectorKnives. Matching scales as well, I am really happy with it .

These two today.

 

[dc50]

Opulent Osage Orange, Dave!

Thanks, GT!

 

[SteveC]

Harness Jack and a Cattle knife today